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Expertise & Passion: The Local News Crisis

Since the closure of my local newspaper, The Northwest Current, in 2019, I have been extremely passionate when it comes to researching and writing about the Local News Crisis. Below are the articles I've written and projects I've worked on pertaining to the Crisis, including two Senior Theses. If you are interested in working with me on a future project about the Crisis, feel free to contact me using the form on my contact page.

Writings on the Crisis

National Press Club Journalism Institute •

Local journalists have a new sourcegathering tool: Nextdoor

Taylor Cranwell once was tipped off to a possible story when he saw chatter on the neighborhood community app Nextdoor: a person may have been dangling off the side of a bridge and in need of help. Seeing the confusion, Cranwell called the local fire department and was able to determine it was simply a training exercise. 

This instance was one of the times Cranwell, a former reporter for The Zebra Press in Alexandria, Virginia, said Nextdoor helped him find sources or pitches for stories. As...
Photo by Me
Poynter •

A community can have local newspapers and still lack local news

After decades of working for national news media’s biggest names, Paul Miller retired to Carmel-by-the-Sea in the 1990s. But instead of spending his days soaking in the Monterey Peninsula’s stunning cliffsides, he bought a struggling local newspaper. Thirty years later, The Carmel Pine Cone is a well-funded, well-oiled machine that prints weekly and is free to the public. Miller’s Pine Cone is a shining example of one of the Golden State’s thriving local news ecosystems, and a model for small-to...
The Fulcrum •

Community is Keeping this Young News Outlet Alive

In 2018, WAMU 88.5 – Washington, D.C.’s NPR member station – saved beloved local publication DCist from certain death. WAMU’s funding and support kept DCist alive and enabled it to continue serving the community with the thoughtful journalism readers had come to love. Six years later, however, WAMU announced it would shut down DCist in favor of prioritizing audio-first content. DCist then joined the thousands of newspapers and news sites that have disappeared across the United States in the last...
Daily Trojan •

An Annenberg professor's newspaper will help local news

Kris Kelley wanted to go to law school. Instead, she’s fixing the local news crisis.
The adjunct journalism professor spent her undergraduate years at UC Berkeley majoring in English with what she thought was a passion for law, but a case of burnout pushed her in another direction. She tried marketing and advertising, but a move to Spain rerouted her yet again — this time, to assist NBC with coverage of the Barcelona Olympics.
“It was a lot of fun,” Kelley said. “I was basically hired for that s...
Daily Trojan •

Your roommate is a local journalist and the world already depends on her

Franklin, with his apparent penchant for analogies, joked with me that journalists are like traffic cops on the 10 Freeway. If you think a police car is nearby, you’ll probably abide by the posted speed limits or only drive slightly above to avoid a ticket. But if you find no cops in sight, you may push your luck. When a locality has journalists assigned to local government affairs, officials are cautious. But take the journalists away and … you get the idea. 
There is — don’t worry — evidence f...
News/Media Alliance •

What Happens When a Community Loses Its Local Newspaper | News/Media Alliance

In the span of just nine months in late 2019 and early 2020, the Washington, D.C. area lost two local newspapers, The Washington Post Express and The Current. A combined readership of 300,000 daily and weekly readers lost their connection to their local news in print and online. D.C. is just one of many such cases nationwide of a community losing its local newspapers. In an age dominated by electronic media, the loss of local news media poses serious concerns for the readers that turn to these p...

My Projects

2022 Thesis: Save Local News

For my High School Senior Thesis Project, I wrote a research paper and created an awareness campaign about the intersection of the Local News Crisis and disinformation in the United States. 

View the Project
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2026: Senior Capstone

My USC Annenberg Senior Capstone centered around the struggle of measuring local news in California. For my project I wrote an article, producced a video and created several interactives - all of which can be viewed at the link below. An edited version of the article has also been published by The Poynter Institute!

View the Project